Apax pioneers new kind of social mix

The first two beneficiaries of Bridges Community Ventures - the 'social' venture capital company backed by the Government and private equity groups Apax and 3i - are a disc-jockey management firm and an energy advice service.

The two projects will get a total of £1.23 million, most of it from Bridges, as the start of a £40m scheme venture capitalists believe will be a prototype for socially responsible investment in the future. Bridges, the brainchild of Apax chairman Sir Ronald Cohen, was launched in May after receiving public backing from chancellor Gordon Brown.

TrusttheDJ (above) will receive a total of £1.1m, of which £800,000 will come from Bridges and the balance from management and existing private investors. It manages more than 30 DJs, as well as running websites.

The other investment is Simply Energy, a telephone-based service, offering consumers advice on energy cost savings, which will receive £125,000.